Pop Art

I have always loved pop art, mainly because of the bright colors and seemingly endless possibilities for subject matter. However, when I started researching pop art for my third project I realized just how versatile it could be.

My memories of pop art were mostly from a childhood being told about Andy Warhol and his soup cans (The Warhol has a great lesson on them), as well as a love for Roy Lichtenstein. However, I found that I enjoy the general idea behind pop art so much more than the limited view of it I'd received.

Pop art is actually much more inclusive that I first considered it to be. In creating pop art, an artist takes something commonplace, or something seen in popular culture and mass media, removes it from its context, and uses it to make a statement.

So it can be a can of Campbell's soup painted over and over, but it can also be Heath Ledger's Joker, Beyonce and Pepsi, President Obama, or Mr. Clean.

I think pop art is a great way to get students to think about the images they see around them, especially when they are taken out of context. It grabs people's attention because of its bright colors, but students can learn to look deeper and think critically about the world around them.

"Caskett"

This is my finished pop art project. At first glance, all of these images mean nothing to each other. However, they mean something very specific to me as a group; they represent different references to the tv show Castle, but only mean anything to someone who has an extensive knowledge of the show.

I really loved painting this piece and I now have a new perspective on an art form that I've always loved.